what to get out of a mentorship specifically?

I got a mentor assigned to me from a local bar association I joined, and we had lunch this week. He's a partner at a BigLaw firm in DC, really nice guy. I just figured we could just be "friends" ya know and if I needed advice I'd give him a ring. But he asked me specifically if there's anything I want to get out of the mentorship. Any idea? I was just going to play it by ear, but since he asked specifically, and asked me to think about it, I thought it wasn't a bad idea just to mull over it a bit. Thoughts?

Well let's be honest here: whether you say it outright or not (and you shouldn't, of course) that is the ultimate purpose of this relationship. Play this up as much as you can; it'll be a great connection for you.

Well let's be honest here: whether you say it outright or not (and you shouldn't, of course) that is the ultimate purpose of this relationship. Play this up as much as you can; it'll be a great connection for you.

i disagree. mentorship relationships do not necessarily have to be about getting hired.

and the question is kind of tough, i think. myself, i'd say that i wanted to get a sense of where i wanted to be at some point further along in my career.

also, hi cosmo.

-tm.

Granted. But it's worthwhile to get them to work out that way where possible.

It seems like he asked you this question because he doesn't quite know what to offer. Obviously it's easier to answer your questions than propose something new.

If you got this assignment from your local ABA, check out their policies. There might be a requirement that you are not to ask your mentor for a job or job references. I know my agreement said that. I think the best thing that came out of this was my mentor's advice on what classes to take and how to go about getting informational interviews in IP field.